Winds of Change.NET: When galaxies attack

January 9, 2008

When galaxies attack

by Donald Sensing at January 9, 2008 1:29 AM

"New Risk to Earth Found in Supernova Explosions"

Eta Carinae is drawing closer to its ultimate explosive demise. When Eta Carinae explodes, it will be a spectacular fireworks display seen from Earth, perhaps rivaling the moon in brilliance.

An explosive star within our galaxy is showing signs of an impending eruption, at least in a cosmic time frame, and has for quite some time. From 1838 to 1858, the star called Eta Carinae brightened to rival the light of Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, and then faded to a dim star. Since 1940 it has been brightening again, and scientists think Eta Carinae will detonate in 10,000 to 20,000 years.

And it gets worse.

A jet of highly charged radiation from a supermassive black hole at the center of a distant galaxy is blasting another galaxy nearby -- an act of galactic violence that astronomers said yesterday they have never seen before.

Gerard Van Der Leun, whence the first link, declares,

First the global freezing, then the ozone hole, then the alar scare, then the warming, then the comet strike and now, now this, the FINAL INSULT! I tell you if this keeps up, sooner or later every single person alive on the Earth today is going to be dead.

Bummer.

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Comments

#1 from Robohobo at 4:03 am on Jan 09, 2008

Doomed, we're all doomed I say.

Doomed.

#2 from Kirk Parker at 4:17 am on Jan 09, 2008

scientists think Eta Carinae will detonate in 10,000 to 20,000 years.

I can hardly wait.

#3 from Joe Katzman at 4:43 am on Jan 09, 2008

Last I checked, the death rate is still 100%.

Apologies to my colleague Donald Sensing, who thinks it's closer to 99.99999+%

#4 from Donald Sensing at 4:52 am on Jan 09, 2008

Ah, Joe, you crack me up!

No, actually, the death rate is still 100%. It's the "raised" rate that's o.ooooo1%.

#5 from Mark Buehner at 8:43 pm on Jan 09, 2008

Elijah might argue with that! But if he shows up to we will probably have bigger issues to think about.

This kind of celestial violence is apparently a lot more common than was assumed in the past, which makes the Rare Earth hypothesis a lot more plausible. While there are certain 'billions and billions' of stars out there (and more) a lot of the galaxy is simply inhospitable to the evolution of advanced life. Lets hope we don't join to average any time soon.

#6 from Donald Sensing at 10:50 pm on Jan 09, 2008

Yes, most people don't realize that the middle 2/3 or so of a galaxy is so radiation intensive that we can't even imagine any kind of life that could develop there.

Ohe things that the sci-fi writers never really address in their interstellar alliances is that they would have to be "ring" organizations, extending not across a galaxy but around it. Move much toward the middle from earth and you die, period.

#7 from Gramarye at 12:10 am on Jan 10, 2008

Well, "much" is a relative term in that context.

#8 from Donald Sensing at 12:27 am on Jan 10, 2008

"Relative" term - Hah! Good one, Einstein!

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